


Red’s Guide to Caring for Your Sick Edgy Papyrus Without Dying

by PorterHawk



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Blue is ultimate nurse, Caretaking, Doomfanger the Cat is also here, Fell Has a Cat, Fell Hates all of them, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Maybe too hard, Not as bad as Fell, Red Has a Rough Day, Red tries his best, Sick Character, Sick Sans (Undertale), Sickfic, Some Plot, sick papyrus, some foul language, stretch is just the annoying younger sibling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-05
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:00:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23027434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PorterHawk/pseuds/PorterHawk
Summary: Red gets a call from Undyne with some unexpected news. He gets the day off, but it’s only to look after his sick brother. Fell has come down with something serious, and he isn’t too receptive to Red’s help. How is Red going to do this without getting dusted for his efforts?(Fell Sickfic)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 71





	1. An Unexpected Day Off

Red sighed contently, picking some of the recently eaten burger particles from his teeth. So far another standard day at his post in Snowdin Forest. Shame it was so boring, but that also meant monsters weren’t actively trying to dust him. Even his brother was pretty scarce today, and the guy usually stopped by three times a shift just to scold him for napping. He must have been called to New Home or something, but that just meant more slacking off time to himself.

Sadly the quiet didn’t last long. His phone started blaring out the lyrics to _Crazy Bitch_ just as he was starting to snooze. Dammit, that was the Fish Bitch’s ringtone too. He wasn’t allowed to ignore it.

“What?” Red growled answering the phone.

“I have a special mission for you.” Red could only raise a brow bone at her words. At least she went straight to the point.

“Oh man, a SPECIAL mission, I don’t know if I should feel honored or get my will ready.”

“Cut the sarcasm asshole.” Undyne snarled.

“So what type of ‘mission’ do ya have for me?” Red picked at his false tooth already disinterested. Whatever it was it had to be stupid.

“I need you to take your vacation days-“

“Wait, I have VACATION DAYS?!” Red gawked. Since when did he have those? And how many?!

“Wait, you seriously didn’t know?”

“Boss never let me take a vacation!”

“Oh yeah, I forgot you lived with Papyrus.” She chuckled dryly. “I almost feel sorry for you. almost.” Red just cursed under his breath and waited for her to continue. Stars this better be important. “Anyway, I need you to take some days off to make sure Papyrus stays in bed.”

“He’s a big boy. Boss can figure out his own schedule.” Red rolled his eyelights.

“Not when he’s like this. Have you even LOOKED at him today?”

“Obviously. He looked like shit this morning, same as he has all week, but I don’t have a death wish. He’ll power his way through this bug like he always does.”

“... Your brother fell over on patrol.” Red froze at her words. That’s definitely a first. “Two times today already, and apparently it happened once yesterday too. I can’t have him dusting on the job, he’s the only one that writes legible reports dammit!” She slammed her fist into something hard for emphasis, though Red couldn’t tell what. “So I _persuaded_ him to go home and rest until he’s well enough not to keel over, and I need YOU to make sure he does that.”

“Dang, I’m surprised ya got him ta cooperate. Whatcha do? Tie him up and throw him across the Underground?”

“Sans!” Undyne snarled warningly.

“Alrighty, alright. Your wish is my command Fish Bitch.”

“Stupid asshole! I’m gonna-” Red hung up before she could continue, sighing tiredly. Stars dammit Pap, why did he always have to be so stupid about these things?

Standing upright he took a shortcut to the living room of their house, glancing around trying to figure out what to do first. Well, he had no idea what Papyrus was suffering from, like he would ever give him that information to begin with.

A thud on the stairwell made him turn, seeing a frightening sight midway up. Nope, just nope. This was wrong, sick and wrong on so many levels. Boss was holding the handrail tightly, partially up the steps before falling to his knees and panting heavily. Well, he made it home at least, but still! This was never a sight he thought he’d see, and it just felt unreal.

“Boss?” Red questioned, snapping Fell to attention.

“W-what are you doing home? Get back to work right now!” Fell shouted though it didn’t have the normal force behind it. He was sporting some significant bruising around his right socket, a testament to Undyne’s _persuasive_ efforts in making him go home. Red really wished he could have seen it. Then again he also wanted Boss to be his usual unshakable self, because this version was just too scary for him. He needed to stay calm though. Red was the big brother here, and he’d taken care of Fell when he was a sick babybones. It would be just like back then.

“Can’t Boss, the Fish Bitch has ordered me ta take my vacation days, which I have apparently!” His eyelights flashed angrily for emphasis before he went back to his nonchalant stance. “Anyways, of course I’ll do it as the loyal employee I am.” He took a shortcut so he was standing a few steps above his brother. Red could now see the perspiration coating Fell’s skull, and how shaky his hands were. At this point Red wasn’t sure if he should give his assistance or try egging Fell up on his own. He’d try the latter first. “Wow Boss, takin’ a break only half way up the steps? Maybe ya should just keel over on the couch and call it quits.”

“I swear to Asgore when the house stops spinning I will end you!” He lunged only to trip on the next step and smash his knee. Yeah, Fell needed a hand.

“Don’t worry Boss, it will stop eventually. In the meantime, I know a quicker way. Let me show ya.” He slipped under Fell’s arm to help support him, taking the chance to gauge the temperature of his bones. They were sizzling hot, far warmer than they should be. Fell tensed realizing what the elder was planning.

“Red don’t you dare-“ The two were pulled into a shortcut before he could finish, appearing in Fell’s bedroom.

Bad idea apparently. The trip sent Fell rushing over to the garbage can where he swiftly threw up whatever magic he still had. He hunched over it for a few long seconds after trying to catch his breath, while Red shuffled over cautiously.

“Damn Boss, I thought you’d ‘stomach’ that better-“ Fell slapped him upside the head before he could finish, shakily making his way over to the bed without another word.

“Okay yeah, I kinda deserved that one.” Red mumbled rubbing his sore cheekbone. “Think ya can get the armour off at least?” Fell just growled at him angrily, getting an eyelight roll in response. “Alright Boss, ya get ready for bed and I’ll get ya some water.” His younger brother cursed unintelligibly while Red waltzed out of the room shutting the door behind him.

Grumbling to himself Red opened the bathroom door, deciding to raid the medicine cabinet. Stars dammit why did Boss have to be so stubborn? If he had just taken a vacation day to sleep this off he’d probably be fine now, but nope. He just had to work through it like an idiot. To be fair, he had done it before and it worked out fine for him. It seemed like some illnesses were just tougher than the toughest of monsters, including Boss.

After several minutes of rummaging Red finally managed to find some fever medication. Boss hadn’t taken any medicine for illness since he was a babybones. In fact they'd been using the same bottle for years. It should still work fine though. The thing was only… eleven years out of code. Practically brand new in his book.

Grabbing the semi clean glass off the counter he filled the thing with tap water and made his way back to Papyrus’ room. “Hey Boss? Can I come in?”

No response.

“Welp, I’m coming in anyway.” Red kicked the door open and glanced around the floor. Fell’s armour and boots were in a pile near the corner. A singular neat pile, but an uncharacteristic pile nonetheless. Papyrus himself had crawled into bed at some point and was currently curled up on his side shivering lightly.

“Dang Boss, you're not looking so hot.”

“... I hate you… with every fiber of my being…” Fell mumbled but didn't throw him out just yet, or bother rolling over to greet him for that matter. At least he trusted the elder enough for this much. It’s not like he had much choice either way. Red grabbed the trash can from the other side of the room and dragged it closer just in case. He set the water on the dresser and held the pills out towards Fell.

“Take these.” Red ordered. Fell made to shift but stopped sharply when his head started reeling.

“... leave them on the dresser.” He croaked instead. Red raised a brow bone but shrugged, setting them down as requested. Fell was looking pretty cold, even if he was too stupid to admit it. Red just grumbled some more curses and went to the linen closet, pulling out a few extra blankets and carrying them to the bedroom. A hiss made him stop momentarily, realizing he just destroyed Doomfanger’s hiding spot. The one eyed black cat stared up at him, angry at being disturbed.

“Well find a new spot then! Stupid ass cat…” He stomped away from the hissing beast and back to Fell’s room. Boss had shifted to his other side and taken the medicine in Red’s absence, so that much was good at least. Without saying anything he threw the blankets by Fell’s chests knowing better than to baby him.

“Imma be downstairs if ya need anything. Get up and I will kick your ass, got it?”

“I’d like to see you try.” Fell grumbled. Red just smirked and shut the door gently. He was still acting like jerk self. If that changed then he’d really have something to worry about.

Shuffling downstairs he flopped back onto the lump filled sofa and turned on the television, quickly growing bored of the slasher currently playing.

“Man this got bad after the fourth installment.” Red grumbled seeing the special effects of Metteton’s character beheading a human. The switch to a rubber head was comically obvious, fake spewing blood and all. Tiredly he watched for a while, enjoying the fact he didn’t have to be at his post. Stars this was the life, and Boss wasn’t even yelling at him. Other than his brother being half dead upstairs it was looking to be a nice afternoon-

“Meow.” A deep guttural growl came from the catwalk above. Red glanced up seeing Doomfamger looking down at him impatiently, his half tail flicking, and his underbite making him look like a deranged bulldog.

“Don’t give me that look. Ya ain’t gettin nothin from me.” Red growled back. Doomfanger simply made his way over to Fell’s bedroom door, clearly wanting entry.

“If ya wanted in ya should have gone while I was up there. Idiot.” He glowered, only to go stock still at its next move. Doomfanger was now holding his paws erect like he was going to paw the door viciously.

“Someone’s about ta make a very poor life decision.” The cat didn’t stop, looking down at Red before quickly swatting his claws against the door, producing a loud scraping noise. “Why ya little-“ He stopped at hearing the bed shift in Fell’s room, quickly shortcutting upstairs and opening the door.

“No need ta get up Boss! I got this.” Doomfanger just huffed, walking heavily into the room on his muscular frame. Fell was partially sitting up and still looking like death, but he settled once the cat leapt onto the bed and curled in the crook of his knees. At some point he covered himself sloppily with the blankets, though he was still rattling. “How ya feelin’ Boss?”

“Fine, now go away.” Fell mumbled putting on his usual scowl. Red just rolled his eyelights and waddled over, placing his phalanges against Fell’s forehead despite his verbal protest. His skull was still hot despite the medicine.

“Jeez Boss, what kind of bug did ya catch anyway?”

“I am NOT sick!” He barked, swiftly sitting up straight to show he was fine. Too fast apparently, as his whole body quickly lunged for the trashcan again with an ugly hacking sound.

“Coulda fooled me.” Red deadpanned. Fell coughed a few times finally finishing his vomiting, shakily pulling himself upright.

“This is simply advanced training… against poison!”

“So ya poisoned yourself ta the point of bein’ bedridden?” Red raised a brow bone not falling for his bullshit. Fell just glared at him dangerously, but Red wasn’t giving up either. The two stared each other down until Boss’s arms gave out.

“Shut up Sans…” He laid his head down still looking pissed, but Red didn’t much care for winning. He watched his brother closely instead, making a mental checklist of all his symptoms so far. Vomiting, weakness, sweating, fever, vertigo, and severe chills. Those were the visible ones to go off of at least, so what illness could it be? Skeletons don’t get the flu so that was off the table. Red himself had been bedridden by their equivalent of colds before, but that was something Boss could easily handle. It had to be tough enough to knock Fell on his ass, and he wasn’t coming up with many options. If he didn’t know any better he’d say his brother had the rattles, but he wasn’t dilerius so that couldn’t be it either.

“Fuck off already!” Fell encased Red’s soul in blue and sent him sliding for the door.

“Alright alright! Ungrateful ass!” Red snarled but only shut the door part way this time in case Doomfanger wanted to leave. Stomping down the stairwell he decided to take a trip over to Grillby's. It’s not like Boss could yell at him for it, and he could even grab some soup for his sick ass later. Glancing back up the stairs Red internally cursed at how stubborn Boss was. He’d let himself dust before asking Red for help, and that’s what scared him most here. Walking out the front door he decided to make it a to go order.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

“Sorry Blue, but we really can’t make it this weekend.” Red walked through the front door, kicking his snow covered shoes off and setting his bag on the coffee table. Finally having a free hand he managed to hold his cell phone up to hear Blue properly.

“Are you sure everything’s alright? You two never cancel at such short notice.” Blue asked, sounding worried.

“It’s fine. It’s just that Bos- I mean, I’m just feelin’ a bit sick, so it’s nothin’ ta worry about.” He added a few fake coughs for extra emphasis.

“Well that’s not good at all! I can drop off some soup if that would help.”

“Nah, it’s alright.” Red looked up to Boss’ bedroom door, still cracked open slightly just like he left it. “Ya all just have a good time without us.”

“We shall try. Do get plenty of rest though. We wouldn’t want you to get worse.”

“Believe me Blue, neither do I.” The two ended their conversation, Red opening his bag of food to pull out Fell’s soup. It was lukewarm now, after that long conversation he had to have with Blue. As fun as it was hanging with his innocent doppelgängers, he didn’t want to leave his brother alone either. That’s not even mentioning the thrashing he’d get if the others learned Boss was actually the sick one. He liked having his legs intact.

“Hey Boss. I brought food.” Red knocked on the door before pushing it open, seeing Fell hadn’t moved since he left. Doomfanger had though, now busily cleaning Fell’s sweaty temple with his tongue. “Ya better eat it too. Grilby was giving me shit about it the whole time.” Red turned the light on so he could see, getting Fell to groan at the brightness.

“Come on Boss, ya won’t get better if ya don’t eat.”

“You know what would go well with that… office papers…” Red turned around completely baffled. That was weird, but maybe his bro was just trying to make a joke. He decided to laugh it off.

“Haha, very funny Boss, now sit up already.” His brother’s eyelights we’re relatively hazy, and he was scrunching his sockets trying to get a good look at Red.

“... you… you have… bleh…” With that he completely passed out.

“What? I have what?! Seriously Boss you’re scaring me!” Still no answer. His brother was out like a light.

“Shittttttt!!!!” Red’s eyelights went out from panic. It’s fine, this was completely fine! Boss had been injured pretty badly in the past, so he’d recover from this just fine. Right? But he’s never been this SICK before! This was different, and usually the roles were reversed.

“Alright, this is going to be fine. You’ve taken care of a sick babybones Papyrus before, so this is just like that. You’re the eldest here.” He looked back at his brother realising he looked even worse then when he first left the house. It wasn’t like seeing a defenceless babybones Papyrus. This was BOSS Papyrus! How was he supposed to do this without Fell killing him for his efforts?!

Well hopefully it wouldn’t get any worse-

A loud knock at the door made him freeze. “Red! Where are you?!” The front door swung open, their two Swap alternates stepping inside.

“Shouldn’t we wait for someone to open the door first?” Stretch asked his older brother.

“What if Red is too sick to get out of bed though? That would be rude to make him move for us.” Blue answered, sounding sure of himself. Red just looked between his half dead brother and the cracked doorway, hearing his double making his way up the staircase.

Welp, life was good while it lasted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I noticed a distinct lack of sick fics for our favourite edgy skeleton. Red gets a lot of them but Fell has few to none, so this idea hit me and it got hammered out in one day.
> 
> I know the general consensus is that Fell just doesn’t get sick or when he does he just works through it. Well if you’ve ever known a super tough person in your life that ever got a surprise diagnosis at the doctor, or was completely knocked out by a parasite or other nasty virus, then you’ll know it happens and it can be scary. I figured Fell could use the extra tortur- I mean love imao.
> 
> Second chapter dependent on reception. If you enjoyed leave a comment!


	2. A Distraction is Needed!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Red has to deal with Stretch and Blue, while his brother has an emotional breakdown.
> 
> Fell has mentally left the building.

“Red? I know you said not to bring anything, but I was worried so we stopped by anyway!” Blue yelled from the bottom of the steps.

Shit shit shit! Red needed a plan and he needed it now! If Blue came up the stairs and decided to check why Boss’ door was open, then it would be all over. 

He needed to look sick!

Grabbing a spare blanket from Fell’s bed Red ported into the bathroom and splashed his skull with water. Checking himself in the mirror he then flooded his cheekbones with additional magic, making himself look feverish.

Perfect.

“Red?” Blue asked again now at the top of the steps.

“Oh, hey Blue.” Red came out of the bathroom fake coughing into his hand. “What are ya doing here?”

“Oh stars you really do look awful!” Blue rushed past Fell’s cracked door frame much to Red’s relief. “Strange, you don’t feel warm.” He commented placing a hand to Red’s skull.

“Nah, it’s just a cold. No reason ‘tibia’ upset.” Red smirked when Blue gave him an annoyed glare.

“I’ll let it slide this time since you're sick. Honestly you should be in bed.” Blue started ushering him to the appropriate bedroom, but Red couldn’t help thinking about Boss. He left the door cracked so the Swaps would think he’s not home, but Blue would have to pass that doorway on the way downstairs, unsupervised where he could get curious.

“Actually I was setting up shop on the sofa. I would use my bed, but *cough cough* Boss says it’s too much trash ta get better in.” Blue just looked at him incredulously.

“Stars, you really are sick! You’re actually listening to Fell AND you haven’t said one insult since we got here.”

“What can I say.” Red chuckled before throwing in another fake cough. “I’ve just been workin’ myself ‘ta the bone’ lately.”

“Again I’m letting that slide since you don’t feel well.” The two went downstairs, Red being sure to place himself between Blue and Boss’ door frame. “Where is Fell? Is he working in his room?”

“No! I-I mean, nope. He just left the door open for… Doomfanger.” Red lied.

“Awww! He likes to sleep in Fell’s room?”

“Surprisingly often.” The grouchy Sans relaxed a bit when they reached the bottom of the steps. He sat on the couch like Blue instructed, his double pulling out a Tupperware container of fresh soup from his inventory. 

“Now where did Papy go? Has he seriously hidden somewhere?”

“Nah bro, just checking the kitchen for honey.” Stretch stepped out of said room with a lazy wave.

“Papyrus! No stealing food from other monster’s pantries without permission.”

“Sorry bro, figured since Red did it at our house then I could too.” Stretch shrugged.

“So, as *cough* nice as your visit was, Ya should probably go… so I can rest.” He smiled hoping the two would leave. 

“Are you sure? We just got here.” Blue raised a brow bone suspiciously. Thankfully Stretch didn’t agree.

“Come on bro, let’s leave Red in peace. Don’t you still have tacos to make for the picnic Saturday?”

“Good point brother! I’ll get Red situated first though.” Blue set the soup on the counter and filled a bowl with it, grabbing a spoon and handing it to Red. He even made sure his grouchy double had a glass of juice and the TV remote. Red couldn’t even feel bad about lying, as long as it kept Blue’s focus off of Fell.

“I think I’ll be *cough cough* good now. Ya guys should get goin’ before my cold spreads.” Blue looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, Red just smiling wider hoping he’d leave.

“Alright, I’ll call tomorrow to see how you're doing!” 

“Sounds good.” Red chuckled giving a thumbs up.

“Let’s go brother!” Blue headed out the door with one final wave, Stretch sauntering close behind. Before closing the door he looked back at Red giving him a wink. He just stared in confusion as the door closed, finally letting his cheekbones flush back to their normal color. Throwing off the blanket Red took a shortcut into Fell’s room, seeing that the blankets covering his brother had been straightened out, the unconscious skeleton now tucked in comfortably with Doomfanger napping at his feet. There was also a large box on the dresser with a piece of notebook paper attached.

“What the hell?” Red scratched his skull at the new toolbox, taking the note and skimming through it.

‘I thought it was weird you called instead of Edgelord (Blue did too, which is why he wanted to come out so badly). I must say it’s a little ‘jaw dropping’ seeing the big guy out like this, so I won’t tell anyone (as long as you send me video footage of anything funny that happens). Here’s Blue’s emergency kit for when I get sick. Edgelord might like some of the stuff in it lol.’

Heh, Stretch figured it all out before Blue did. At least Stretch knew how to keep a secret, when he wanted to anyway. He was sure the lazy Papyrus would be using this as blackmail for a long time to come.

Opening the box Red rummaged through the supplies. A multitude of different medications all within code, an ice bag, thermometer, tissues, and…. a stuffed rabbit and children’s book?

“Heh, classic Blue.” Red chuckled. He wouldn’t have a use for the baby items, but the medicine would be a huge help. Placing his phalanges back on Fell’s skull he realized the fever was getting worse. “Stars dammit.” Red cursed. That needed to be taken care of pronto.

Taking the ice bag he went to the kitchen and filled the thing with all the ice cubes in the freezer. He grabbed some more water glasses while he was at it, deciding he’d put the soup Blue brough away later. Shortcutting back up to the bedroom Red set everything down with a loud clatter.

Fell blinked his sockets open groggily, wincing a bit at the bright light above him. His eyelights were even hazier than earlier, and his cheekbones were now flushed with scarlet magic.

“Sorry Boss, this should help ya feel better.” Red placed the ice bag on his skull before turning back to Blue’s tackle box. “These pills should help too. We need ta get that fever under control.” Fell just blinked looking between the pills and Red, his face scrunched like something was causing him pain.

“C-could you tell the dancing llamas to stop…” Red just looked at his brother blankly, checking around the room not seeing anything remotely close.

“Llamas? Boss, there ain’t no llamas in here.” He whimpered lightly in response, LITERALLY WHIMPERED.

“They hurt to look at…” he squinted his eyes shut trying to hide his face under the sheets. Red looked to the light on the ceiling. Was Fell talking about the lights? Was he seeing things in the lights? He did seem to be having hallucinations, so that pretty much confirmed he had the rattles. Now it was just a matter of tiptoeing around his frazzled mind without him attacking.

”I can take care of the llamas, but then ya gotta take the meds. Alright?” Fell nodded in response, prompting Red to hit the light switch. His brother instantly calmed with the darkness and opened his sockets further. “Are the llamas gone?” 

“Uh-Huh.” Boss nodded. Stars this was too weird.

“Alright, now take these like ya promised.” Thankfully Fell did as asked, taking a big swing of water to wash them down with. He sunk back into the pillow looking a little more comfortable. “Can ya stomach some soup too?” Red held out the the to go container from Grillby’s, which was instantly rejected.

“Fine fine, but ya gotta eat it later or the llamas will come back.” He stood up to put both bowls of soup in the fridge, only for a clawed hand to grab his jacket. Fell was looking up at him blearily with a shaky breath.

“P-please don’t go…” He whispered.

“I’ll be back, so stop bein’ such a babybones already. It’s freakin’ me out.” Red growled out, but the grip only tightened. 

Stars dammit.

“Alright, ya win Boss. I’ll stay. Happy?” Fell nodded, clearly not even half present mentally. It was almost… cute. Dammit just thinking it sounded wrong!

Red placed both bowls in his inventory, knowing it would be a long evening. Dragging over the desk chair he plopped on the seat, pulling out his phone and checking his messages. Nothing new other than some well wishes from Rus and Slim. Even Comic had a few bone related puns to add. Well, at least Stretch was keeping his end of the secret, even if he wanted pictures in return.

Lifting his phone Red snapped a picture of Fell with the ice pack hanging on him like a big hat. His sockets were shut tight and he still looked uncomfortable but there wasn’t much more Red could do. It was Fell’s own fault for trying to work through it, so now he had to suffer the consequences. Sending the image Red breathed knowing his obligation was fulfilled. Now hopefully his smoking buddy would keep his word.

He sat back ready for a nap only to perk up at an odd sobbing noise coming from his right. Red looked down with a raised brow bone, seeing Fell was sniffling back bright red mucus and tears.

“Boss?” Red asked, very confused and a bit worried. Fell hadn’t cried in years, literal years!

“T-they’re gonna kill us….” Fell whispered between sniffles. 

“Who’s gonna kill us?” Red questioned leaning in closer trying to hear better.

“The shadows on the roof Sans… I-it’s all part of the slave ring… they’re going to replace us with clones! I’ve seen them! A-and I don’t want you to die…” Red’s eyelights went out. He wasn’t sure if he should be laughing or freaking out right now. Boss was having delusions, and Red could elicit any sort of reaction depending on his next action. He needed to tread carefully.

“There’s no shadows or nothing that’ll kill me.” Red stated trying to sound reassuring. Fell didn’t seem convinced, his hazy eyelights glancing around the room frightfully.

“B-but they will! That’s what they want you to think!” Fell sniffled back a huge amount of mucus, his eyelights suddenly doubling in size. 

This couldn’t be good.

“Uhhh… Boss-“

“I love you so much Sans!” Fell started bawling, shooting his arm out from under the blankets and pulling Red in for a tight hug.

“Hey! Let me go asshole! You’re gettin’ mucus all over my jacket!”

“But I don’t want you to die!” He just cried harder, suddenly going quiet and his body tensing. Red knew what was coming, quickly taking his brother's skull and forcing it towards the trashcan just in time for him to vomit. The ice bag fell to the ground, making Fell jump in surprise and subsequently getting him sicker.

“You’re lucky this ain’t contagious or I’d crack your skull open!” Red snarled trying to mask his worry. Stars damn this idiot! Fell hacked a few more times, finally finishing his puking but not pulling back right away. He was still leaning heavily on Red’s arm like he enjoyed the contact or something. Despite being a skeleton the idiot was still really heavy!

“Alright Boss, time ta lay back down.” He pushed his brother back onto his bed with a hefty grunt, the larger not putting up any resistance. He didn’t lay back down right away, instead looking at the ceiling with an odd expression.

“I-I think I know how to get rid of the shadow people.” Fell murmured. 

“Ya do?” Red cringed already regretting that he asked. Fell nodded and summoned several bones, all just as hazy looking as his eyelights. 

“I- I’ll go and kill them all! Then they can’t kill you.” Red’s eyelights guttered out realizing something was gonna blow up. Fell sounded so sure of himself too. 

“Bro, ya can’t even stand up without pukin’-“

“I can do it Sans, just give me a few seconds and we’ll all be safe.” 

“Boss wait-“ The bones suddenly flew upwards, Red hitting the deck hearing a loud crashing noise and parts of the ceiling falling on top of him. Doomfanger snarled at the sudden noise and rushed out of the room, leaving Red alone to deal with the fallout. He blinked his sockets open, glancing upwards seeing the bones had exploded upon contact with the ceiling and left nice gaping holes into the attic. Fell looked very satisfied with himself. 

“N-now we’re safe.” Fell murmured smuggly. “Y-you can rest assured that the… Great Papyrus h-has saved you!” He fell back against the pillow staring up at the holes he left with a small grin.

“Angel help me…” Red groaned into the carpet. He didn’t want to get back up. Stars dammit he really didn’t, but Fell’s questioning grunt said otherwise. Sighing heavily he eventually sat upright checking his brother’s expression. “Ya feel safe now?” Fell nodded in response, seeming happy Red was in eyesight again. He just growled out a few more curses and threw the ice pack back on his brother’s skull.

“Alright Boss, imma put the food away downstairs. I’ll be right back-“

“Don’t leave! Why are you leaving?” Fell sounded so hurt at the prospect.

“Boss I already told ya-“ Red stopped and groaned, rubbing his sockets tiredly. He looked back to Blue’s toolbox coming up with a new plan. Well, it’s not like Fell was thinking straight right now. Red might be able to get away with this. “I’m not leavin’ ya alone here. I’m leavin’ ya with…” Red stuck his hands into the box and pulled out the brown stuffed rabbit. “Mister Fluffy Butt is gonna make sure nothin’ happens while I’m gone. He’ll take good care of ya.” Fell took the rabbit in his hands, squinting at the thing trying to process all of the information despite his fevered mind not letting him.

“Fluffy Butt is very soft…” Fell decided eventually, gently rubbing his phalanges over the fabric.

Oh thank stars!

“Yeah Boss, he’s SUPER happy ta meet ya. Totally wants ta be your friend.” 

“F-friend?”

“Yeah, ya should tell him all about yourself.” Red crept to the doorway while Fell was transfixed on the stuffed rabbit. As soon as he hit the hallway Red ported to the kitchen and collapsed into one of the chairs. 

Thank Asgore he could breath for a second!

“Dammit Boss, why ya gotta be such a stupid dumbass…” He cursed under his breath for several minutes before finally getting to work on putting everything away. Though he may be lazy, wasting perfectly good food was akin to a crime down here. It didn’t make it any less of a pain though. 

After leaving all the dirty dishes in the sink Red poked his head into the living room listening for any signs of distress. He could hear his brother mumbling unintelligibly to that stupid rabbit, but as long as nothing was blowing up he’d call it good.

“Stars damn I can finally relax.” Red flopped on the couch and pulled out one of his human magazines to keep busy. Play Boy was written in big letters across the cover with a sexy brunette in a skimpy cowboy outfit underneath. “Time ta see what’s goin’ on in the surface world.”

XxxxxxxxxxxX

Everything was hazy with an odd halo surrounding anything that moved. His soul felt very cold and extremely hot all at the same time and he couldn’t make sense of the sensations. Even his bones wouldn’t respond properly, and they continued to lightly rattle despite his mental protest. At some point Fell had stopped trying to fight against it, relaxing into the mattress as his mind started processing all sorts of weird sights and sounds that were only giving him a worse headache.

Now he was left holding a soft rabbit thing and he couldn’t remember why he had it to begin with.

‘Hello Papyrus.’

Fell blinked up not sure if he heard correctly. Everything in his vision was distorted, and it looked like the rabbit was moving.

“W-what?” Fell questioned squinting a bit hoping his sight would clear.

‘I want to be your friend.’ 

Yes. The rabbit was definitely talking to him.

“Okay.” He shut his sockets and nodded. That seemed reasonable. He didn’t have a reason not to trust the talking rabbit, especially since he was struggling to remember anything from just a few minutes prior.

‘That other skeleton, the one that abandoned you.’

Wait, what skeleton was it talking about? The short one most likely. What was his name? It was on the tip of his teeth but he couldn’t remember it.

’He abandoned you for the clones. You’re all alone now.’

”I killed the clones. We are safe now.”

‘He still left you. Your brother doesn’t want anything to do with you anymore.’

Oh right, the other skeleton was his brother. How could he forget something so important? He said he would be back though, right? He couldn’t remember what his brother said. It was all a haze

“H-he‘ll come back. He promised he would.” 

‘You’ll see. He’ll forget all about you.’

“He’ll come back! I’ll drag him back if I have to!” Fell tried to move but his soul lurched nauseously. He’d go later if his brother didn’t come back soon. 

Fell put the rabbit down with a huff. Fluffy Butt didn’t know what he was talking about. His brother would come back, he just needed to wait a little longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Visit here to see accompanying art.
> 
> https://aminoapps.com/c/undertale-aus/page/blog/chapter-2-reds-guide-to-caring-for-your-sick-edgy-papyrus-without-dying/aZDj_Mnt0u64akqXzZDZNvk1aGZnvnbqkHE
> 
> Uh-Oh, Fell is listening to the stuffed rabbits mean talk and Red is reading dirty magazines during his brother’s crisis.
> 
> I’m sure this decision won’t blow up in his face.
> 
> Comment if you enjoyed!


	3. Getting Out of Hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Red has officially bit off more then he can handle.

“Well, that wasn’t exactly news.” Red closed his magazine trying to shake off his blush. That was something different, that's for sure. Something very inappropriate. Fell would definitely burn this thing with all the heat available in Hotland. Hell, he’d probably throw something this obscene into The Core personally and videotape its destruction for the world to see.

“Yep, it’s a keeper.” Red tucked the magazine snuggly away in his inventory for later research. 

Popping his spine back in place, Red took a moment to check the time on his phone. Eight thirty in the evening. That magazine took up way more of his evening then he first thought. He should probably try shoving something down Fell’s throat before it got any later. The idiot needed to eat at some point or another if he wanted to get better, though in his current state of mind that was debatable.

Heading to the kitchen Red threw a bowl of Blue’s soup in the microwave, deciding to eat the stuff Grillby made cold from the container himself. No new visitors or destructive noises from upstairs. His brother must've fallen asleep then. Heh, maybe he won’t need to feed the idiot tonight after all. Still, it was a good idea to check and make sure his fever was going down. Honestly the thought of another crying fit has made him nervous to go back upstairs. Not only was it uncomfortable seeing Boss like that, but he had no idea how to deal with anyone during an emotional outburst. His usual insults and yelling wasn’t working, so what was he supposed to do if Fell did it again?

Eventually the microwave beeped, indicating it was time to go. Red placed the bowl in his inventory before heading upstairs, just in case he needed to dodge more attacks upon entry. No new noises on his assent up the staircase, other than Doomfanger glowering at him like Red did something wrong. He ignored the creature, instead nudging the door open with his foot, peering inside.

The bed was empty.

Glancing around frantically he quickly spotted his brother face down on the floor. He was barely a few feet away from the bed laying next to a vomit pile.

“Papyrus?!” Red dove down to his brother, quickly rolling him over. His bones were rattling a bit harder now and the reddish tint of his magic had spread. “Speak ta me bro!” Fell opened his sockets painfully, taking a minute to comprehend who was with him.

“It’s you!” Fell’s arms quickly latched around Red’s torso pulling him to the floor. Unfortunately his mental state hadn’t changed either. “You came back! I knew Fluffy Butt was lying! Did the clones hurt you?” Fell squeezed Red like a stuffed bear, currently on the verge of happy tears.

“Boss?! Why are ya on the floor?!” Red growled trying to fight his way out of Fell’s grip. Nope, he hadn’t improved at all.

“Fluffy Butt said you weren’t coming back. I wanted to find you… b-but my face found the floor first.” He paused for a second to process his own words, laughing lightly as if seeing some odd humor in it.

Stars damn this idiot.

“Alright Boss, now ya gotta let me go.”

“But the floor is cold…” Fell whispered groggily.

“Well the bed is warmer, so next time stay in it.” Red finally forced his way out of Fell’s arms much to his dismay. Gruffly he turned his brother’s soul blue, using the gravity magic to help move him back to bed. Fell collapsed into it without a struggle. “Now don’t leave or I’ll chain your legs to the bed, got it?”

“Y-you won’t let the clones take us right?” Fell murmured questioningly. Red couldn’t tell if he was ignoring the threat or just lost focus. It was hard telling at this point, and it was pissing him off.

“Only on one condition.” Red pulled the bowl of soup from his inventory. “Ya gotta eat.” Fell’s face instantly turned into a snarl as soon as the smell hit. 

“No! It’s a trap!” Fell growled at the food like it would bite him.

“Ya gotta eat it Boss! I promise it’s safe.” Red put a spoonful in his own mouth hoping to prove his point.

“No! Don’t swallow!” Fell slapped Red’s face trying to make him spit it out, but his movements were too lethargic to do much damage. “It’s a trick from the clones! The food will kill us all!” Fell shakily huffed but Red wasn’t having it. He swallowed his food and took a second to think. It was time to try a new tactic.

“Oh my stars is that a llama?!” Red pointed at the opposite wall.

“What? Where!” Fell turned his head just in time for Red to force a spoonful of soup between his teeth. Fell tried to clumsily wrestle his way out, but the illness zapped his strength tremendously. Red didn’t have much issue getting the soup where he wanted it. 

It was in! And… the soup was dripping out from Fell’s jaw all over his tank top. Huh, for some reason it didn’t occur to him that Fell had to accept the food to actually eat it, one of the perks that went with not having an esophagus. In this case though it was a big pain in the ass. Suddenly Red’s soul blinked blue and was thrown backwards onto his pelvis.

“Ow! That hurt asshole!” Red growled rubbing his tailbone. He looked up to see a manic look on his brother's face and several half formed bones behind him.

“Y-you aren’t actually my brother! You're one of the clones!” 

“Wha? You’re crazy!” Red stood up only to have to dodge a flying bone. Everything started to click once his temper finally settled, and Fell was preparing several more half formed attacks.

“Boss. I know what you’re thinkin’, but it’s not-“

“Shut up faker!” Fell flung a second bone only for his aim to be way off. It hit the computer several feet away instead. “Fluffy Butt was right! What did you do to my real brother?!” Several more poorly aimed bones went flying around the room. Red was forced to port into the hallway getting an aggravated growl from his brother. A loud thud came from the bedroom next, including the sound of Fell getting sick again.

“Boss! I told ya ta stay in bed!” Red growled about ready to storm back in, only for several jagged bones to nearly impale him through the wall. The short skeleton could only inch his way back realizing how badly he screwed up. Even Doomfanger seemed aware, giving him an even more condescending look.

Welp, now he was really out of ideas.

He needed some advice, and he really didn’t want to get it.

“Shit. This is gonna suck.”

XxxxxxxxxxxxxX

This sucked. This really, really sucked.

Red stared down at his phone, Stretch’s contact information pulled up and ready to dial. Slim and Razz wouldn’t be any help here, and the Classics couldn’t keep a secret to save their lives. Stretch already knew though, so it had to be him. The thought didn’t stop his phalanges from trembling over the call button.

“Relax Sans. Ya gotta do this. It’s for your bro.” It honestly felt like he was admitting defeat. Fellverse monsters rarely if ever sought outside help and he never had to do it before. Ultimately, Red accidentally turned Fell against him, and he couldn’t get close on his own anymore.

This had to happen.

“Stars help me.” Red clicked the call button, the phone ringing once, twice, a third time. “Come on asshole pick up already!” Red snarled angrily. He finally got an answer on the fifth ring.

“Yo. A bit late for a conversation, unless you meant to call one of them late night hotlines. I can try to impersonate a lady if you want.” Red snickered a bit but shook it off.

Focus! 

“Hey Stretch… mind if I ask ya some questions?” Red twiddled with his zipper nervously. Stars why was this so hard?!

“Sure thing, what’s on your mind? Is it about the ‘you know who’?” Red sighed trying to psych himself up to continue.

“Has… has Blue ever been really sick before?” 

“Not that I can recall.” Stretch said thoughtfully. “He’s gotten a cold before, but nothing worse than that.”

“Oh.” Red growled under his breath. Well this was a dead end.

“Hold on, Blue has more experience with this. Hey Bro!” 

“Wait! Don’t put him on-“

“Hi Red! What’s going on? Do you need more soup?”

“Heyyyyyy Creampuff.” Red grumbled. Well, he really needed advice, and he was getting pretty desperate. He might as well try at least. “I had a few… purely hypothetical questions for ya.”

“Oh? What’s up?” Red just sighed trying to figure out his wording.

“So, for pure curiosity sake and no other reason, has Stretch ever gotten really sick with somethin’ like… oh, I don’t know… the rattles?” Shit, that sounded so obvious.

“Oh yes! He actually came down with that when he was twelve.”

“Wait, really?! I-I mean is that so?” Red breathed.

“Yes, it was rough on him, but he came out okay. He thought there were rat monsters completely stuffed in the drywall.”

“I did?” Stretch asked from somewhere in the background.

“Yes and you did, and you cried about it a lot! The rambling about tap dancing spiders was cute at least.” Blue chuckled a bit at the memory.

“So, did ya ever have problems with him… refusing ta eat? Or maybe attackin’ ya claimin’ you're a clone? Or what about-“

“Red.” Blue interrupted.

“Yeah?” He asked not liking the tone in his alternate’s voice.

“Would you like us to come over and help with Fell?”

“You know?!” Red gawked. Stretch told him?! That traitorous bastard!

“I figured he was the sick one after seeing you in person. Well, at first I thought you were being genuine, but you weren’t as convincing when you forced us to leave.”

“So I was that obvious, huh?” Red rubbed his forehead tiredly. Stars he shouldn’t of wasted his energy trying to fake it.

“You need to try harder if you want to pull a fast one on the Magnificent Sans!” His bubbly double laughed.

“That, and you should work on your straight face when there’s the threat of Edgelord kicking your ass.” Stretch added.

“Well screw you too Stretch.” Red growled. At this point it couldn’t get much worse than it already was. Well, except Boss could dust him as soon as he got better.

If he got better…

Yeah, he should accept the offer.

“Welp, if ya really wanna come over I won’t stop ya. Just know Boss has been pretty violent recently.”

“Maybe you should tell us a bit more, just so we’re prepared.” Blue offered. 

“Alright. So he says he’s afraid of shadow people and clones…”

XxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Red sat on the couch anxiously waiting for the others to arrive. He was nervous and worried, both for his own health and that of his alternates. Boss had gone quiet a while ago, no more explosions or bones through the wall. It could mean a number of things, and he wasn’t stupid enough to check and find out.

He still couldn’t believe his own actions. Asking for help from Taleverse monsters was something he’d never thought he’d need to do, and now it really was needed. Boss exasperated the problem beyond what Red could deal with alone, which was the asshole’s own damn fault to begin with! Red really shouldn’t be so worked up about this, but he couldn’t help it. If only his dumbass brother wasn’t so stubborn-

A knock at the door interrupted his spiraling thoughts.

They were finally here.

He waddled over to the door, opening it to see a stranger sight then he first expected.

“Hola Red!” Blue beamed, smiling behind a massive fake moustache and sombrero.

“Honestly thought you’d hold out a little longer, but we’re here to help.” Stretch added. He was wearing a brown long haired wig with a bandana wrapped around it, along with some round framed sunglasses.

“What are ya idiots wearin’?” Red questioned with a few poorly contained snickers.

“You said he’s been claiming you’re a dangerous clone and attacking, so we decided the best way to combat that was to not look like ourselves!” 

“We even brought something for you.” Stretch held out a rainbow coloured afro wig and a curly black beard with straps.

“I’ll take my chances.” Red declined, stepping out of the way so the two could enter. “Things are pretty bad upstairs. I’m… not really sure what ta do here.”

“You’ve never helped your brother when he gets sick?” Blue asked incredulously.

“Not since he was a babybones. Usually he just works through anything he catches.”

“Well, I’ll just have to work my magnificent magic, and everything will be fine!” Blue assured him while making his way up the stairs. “Let’s check the damage first.”

Stretch soon followed, Red not far behind. He was the only one acting cautious here, and someone definitely needed to be. He would have to haul Blue’s soul back if Fell went ballistic again.

The peppy skeleton started by knocking gently on the door and pushing it open, seeing Fell unconscious on the floor and flushed with scarlet magic. Red could only peek inside and watch as Blue went back and forth between Fell and his toolbox. He stuck the thermometer in Fell’s ear hole, which somehow didn’t get a reaction. Blue pulled it out once it beeped, going still at the reading. He quickly looked over to Red, rushing out of the room and dragging him downstairs.

“Stars Red! Did you really just leave him like this for days on end?!” Blue gawked.

“Technically he’s only been on bedrest since this mornin’, and on the floor for the last forty-five minutes. Pretty sure he hadn’t done anything ta treat it before that either.” Red shrugged.

“Well, when did the symptoms start?” Blue tried next.

“Don't ask me when they started. Boss keeps that stuff ta himself.”

“When did you notice he was sick?” Stretch tried instead.

“He started lookin’ like shit on Monday. That's the best I’ve got.” Red scratched the back of his skull trying to remember any other details but coming up blank. Blue only gawked at him.

“He’s been sick with the rattles for at least four days and you just now started him on bedrest?!”

“What are ya yelling at me for?! Boss will do what he wants regardless of what I say. He’s not a babybones either and he doesn’t like being treated like one.”

“But he could dust from this Red! We were even here earlier and you didn’t even try-“

“Hey! I don’t judge your prissy ass world for being so ‘special snowflake’ oriented, so stop judging the fact that sick days are a luxury we can’t afford!” Blue and Stretch both paused at his declaration. Red just took the silence to breath, hoping to settle his enraged magic. He wanted to throw them out so badly, he really really did. Unfortunately that wouldn’t help Boss, which was the whole reason he called to begin with.

They were going to get angry at him, he knew that beforehand. Still, he didn’t think he’d get so worked up over their words. 

“Fine.” Blue finally huffed much to Red’s confusion. “If that’s the way things are here then there isn’t anything I can do about it, except introduce the Taleverse way!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will probably be 4-5 chapters in total, so we are making our way to the end.
> 
> Not gonna lie it’s kind of nice being able to work on smaller chapters. I’ve been working on 5,000-8,000 word chapters in my other stuff and it’s a lot, but it’s nice to do smaller things.
> 
> In my brains incessant need to put off my more important works I have an idea for another Undertale story, a sequel to one of my past ones, which will probably be going up this weekend. 
> 
> Comments are appreciated!


	4. Don’t Overexert Yourself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Red does his best to learn from Blue about sick monster care, but it’s a lot more then he can handle at once.
> 
> It doesn’t make dealing with his brother any easier.

Red could only stare at his bubbly alternate blankly. “The… Taleverse way?” Red blinked. That sounded… really dumb. Blue somehow maintained the most eager expression that was hard to look away from.

“It’s basically what you called us here to do.” Stretch stated. “If there is one thing we Tale monsters do best it’s showing love and compassion to those in need.”

“Papy is right! And we will show you how it’s done!” Blue added. “By the time we’re through you’ll know exactly what to do if this ever happens again.”

“Stars I hope not.” Red groaned. He couldn’t take a second round of this bullshit. It was hard enough surviving the first time.

Blue didn’t bother responding, rushing around the house fast enough that Red and Stretch had trouble tracking him. He was grabbing pillows and blankets up from every corner he could find.

“Is this normal for him?” Red asked as Blue zipped by for a fifth time. He had to admit, this was the fastest he’d ever seen his bubbly double move.

“Yep.” Stretch said with an extra pop on the ‘P.’ “He gets into this weird nurturing mode when I’m ill. At least he doesn’t yell at me for sleeping during it.”

“If only Fell was like that when I got sick.” Red sighed. “He’s a little nicer, the keyword being a little.” They both snickered.

“So he’ll give ten percent fewer ass kickings per day?”

“Nah, more like bring me food in bed before complaining about what a lazy ass I am. Ya know, typical Boss stuff.” The two both laughed before Stretch pulled out a cigarette box, only for Blue to rush by and snatch it. 

“No smoking in the house! Fell is sick!” 

“Normally for any other monster I’d agree, but we kind of don’t have lungs.” Stretch shrugged much to Blue’s annoyance.

“It doesn’t matter! Now stop lollygagging so I can show you how it’s done!” Blue grabbed Red’s wrist and dragged him to Fell’s room, Stretch porting up the steps right behind him. “Take a good look at my setup! It’s best to keep the patient comfortable as so.”

Red peaked inside the room, seeing Blue had cushioned Fell up against several pillows, and he was now neatly tucked under a heap of blankets instead of sprawled out on the floor. The vomit was already cleaned up and the trash can emptied. To top it all off Blue had put a freshly filled bag of ice on Fell’s head to keep his fever down, and the stuffed rabbit was on the pillow next to him. It all made Red cringe.

“What’s with the bone wall?” Stretch asked. Red blinked not even realizing he had summoned one.

“Boss is literally gonna kill us when he wakes up to find all of… this! How can ya be so calm?!”

“Well, he’s pretty out of it.” Blue commented waving his hand in front of Fell’s face. “I think he’ll be out for a while more.”

“He hates bein’ babied! When he’s coherent again Boss is gonna string us all up on the mantle!” 

“The keyword being WHEN.” Blue smiled. “Now, with a fever this high it’s good to have extra bags of ice on hand. I’ve gone ahead and tucked some around his rib cage too, since we don’t want his soul overheating. Also remember to regularly monitor him with temperature readings.” He waved his thermometer for good measure.

“Ya both just love torturin’ me. It’s the only explanation.” Red rubbed his forehead tiredly.

“No, we're just teaching you the Taleverse way! And while we’re at it, why are all of your medicines so far out of date?! This one expired twenty years ago!” He held up all the pill bottles that once sat in his medicine cabinet.

“Hey! Maybe ya should try gettin’ fresh medicine in this shit hole! Let me tell ya it ain’t easy!”

Blue just rolled his eyelights and huffed. “All I’m hearing is excuses! You have contacts with other worlds that have better access to these sorts of resources and you don’t use them.”

“Hey guys-“ Stretch tried to interject but was quickly cut off.

“I’m just sayin’ this all seems over the top! I’ve recovered from bad shit without this treatment and I came out fine!” Red snarled.

“That maybe so.” Blue crossed his arms. “But I bet your recovery period took far longer! And look at what your treatment has done so far!”

Red snarled, his eyelight glowing a bright crimson. “I feel like you're lookin’ for a bad time-“ 

“Sorry pal!” Stretch grabbed Red’s arm and yanked him into the hallway, the latter screaming several profanities at the sudden pull.

“Papy! What’s gotten into you?” Blue shouted scoldingly. He went quiet at hearing a pained growl right next to him. Fell was waking up.

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

The sick skeleton cracked his sockets open at hearing very loud and painful noises. He was all nice and cozy under a comforting weight that stopped his bones from rattling so dramatically. If only they could also block the screeching threatening to crack his skull. Stars, it felt like someone was pounding a drum inside his head. He thought he saw something bolting out of the room, but his vision was swimming too much to be sure. Groaning he glanced over to his left finding an odd sight indeed. A skeleton monster with a big moustache and a massive round brimmed hat was watching him worriedly. A fuzzy halo surrounded this… magnificent creature beside him.

“W-who are you?” Fell murmured. He narrowed his sockets trying to get a clearer look at his visitor. The monster jumped a bit, quickly recovering with a big grin.

“Oh! Good morning Fe- I mean Papyrus. Though, I suppose technically it's night time.” The skeleton chimed out loud and painful, but quickly lowered the volume when Fell winced. “I’m Blue- I mean Fiesta. Blue Fiesta!” He smiled wide with massive cyan eyelights. They seemed familiar, but Fell was having a hard time determining why… 

Wait.

“You… y-you aren’t one of the clones, are you?” He asked suspiciously. That’s right. One of the clones had blue eyelights, but they didn’t have a hat or moustache. He wasn’t sure which category this skeleton fit into.

“No, I have never been a clone! I am very much one hundred percent safe.” Blue Fiesta sounded genuine enough, but he still couldn’t be sure.

“What do you think Fluffy Butt?” Fell whispered looking at the stuffed animal. The rabbit was quiet, but he wasn’t outright saying this Fiesta was one of them. He’d let this monster stay for now.

“Does… Fluffy Butt talk to you?” Fiesta questioned. Fell nodded in confirmation.

“He knows things, like how my brother was taken by the shadow people.” He glanced around quickly, satisfied to not find anyone else watching. “Did you see the not-my-real-brother walking around? He’s… he’s in league with them all you know. Fluffy Butt said so.”

“Don’t worry, I know all about the shadow people.”

“You do?” Fell’s sockets widened in excitement. And that fake brother kept calling him crazy! He KNEW he was right. Leaning back into the pillows Fell let out a shaky breath, glancing over to the plushie at his other side for reassurance.

‘He seems trustworthy.’ He heard the stuffed rabbit tell him.

“Yes, yes. I trust your observation.” Fell mumbled to himself. Just knowing Fiesta knew about the evil beings was a relief, even if every other sensation was nightmarish. 

“Is it okay if I check your temperature?” Fiesta asked carefully. Slowly Fell nodded, now feeling confident he could trust this moustached skeleton. The short monster carefully put the thermometer in his acoustic meatus, getting a tense gasp from the uncomfortable feeling and a harsh shiver up his spine. The uncontrollable rattling of his bones throughout the day had caused his joints to start chipping from the constant impact, and such a massive movement was nothing but painful.

“Sorry!” Fiesta said apologetically. “But your temperature is holding steady right now, so I’d say that’s a good thing.” Fell had no idea what he meant by that, so he simply pulled the blankets further up around his chin trying to hide his pained grimace. Blue Fiesta looked down at him thoughtfully before coming up with a new idea.

“Here, I know how to help.” The short skeleton surrounded his hands in green magic making his way for the blankets. Fell flinched trying to pull his body away.

“W-wait! What are you-“ His protests were instantly silenced at the warm numbing feeling washing through his joints. The small stress cracks between his bones were closing up as Fiesta moved his glowing hands overtop his body. “T-that’s really nice…” Fell closed his sockets instantly relaxing. This was amazing. He had no idea what this was but it felt so calming and kind. A loud purring noise erupted from his throat that he couldn’t contain, and oddly enough he didn’t care. It was impossible to stop, this sensation was so nice! He could stay like this forever… 

A giggle made him shoot up immediately, nearly losing more magic from the dizzy spell but too worried to care. There was someone in the hallway, he could hear them!

His not-brother had returned. Even when the laughter instantly stopped a second later he knew they were there!

“S-stay back Fiesta! The shadow people have returned!” He shakily shoved the other skeleton back summoning a few half formed bone attacks. No matter what he wouldn’t allow these evil beings to harm anyone else. His brother would remain the only victim! 

Forcing a leg into the freezing air Fell attempted to stand, only for Fiesta to push him back down.

“Wait! That’s not the shadow people!” He protested. If it wasn’t the shadow people though… then that meant it was their minion clones!

“I-I’ll dispatch them this instant!” He flung one of the bones towards the door frame, hearing a scared squeak from the hallway. There they were!

“I promise it is not who you think. I-it’s… it’s actually-“ 

A familiar black cat suddenly went flying into the room with a loud screech. It landed hard on the floor before hissing and scampering under Fell’s bed.

“It’s just your cat! See? No evil shadows at all!” 

“M-m-my cat?” Fell had to think for a moment. Yes, he had one of those. He nearly forgot.

“Yes! Your cat Doomfanger was just worried about you! No need to get up!” Fiesta smiled behind his big bristly facial hair. Fell had to take a moment to process this. 

Doomfanger was the cat's name.

It was his cat.

No shadow people or clones were here to harm them.

“... okay. I-I trust you.” Fell started to crawl back under the covers, feeling the huge disparity in temperature between the air and his blanket pile. The covers were warm and inviting, compared to the outside that felt like a walk in freezer. He quickly buried himself in the blanket nest trying to warm back up. It was hard though, and he felt the exposure had caused his body to rattle harder. Screwing his sockets shut he curled up on his side trying to will the chill away, but it wasn’t working. His next solution was to adjust himself further, only for something to jab his rib cage. Growling he tried finding the item with his hand. It was hard and cold and he needed it gone.

Within a minute he found his target, hissing at the freezing cold objects wrapped in a cloth around his ribs. There was more than one and they felt horrible! Clumsily the things were wrestled out of his cocoon and tossed to the floor, much to Fiesta’s amusement. 

That was much better.

For a couple minutes, then he started to feel too hot again. Quietly whimpering he poked a hand out trying to find the ice packs again. He managed to grab Fluffy Butt’s leg, which he quickly pulled into the safety of his bed burrito, but that wasn’t the cool relief he wanted. On his second attempt feeling around for the ice packs Fiesta thankfully took pity on him. He gently placed a larger, better wrapped ice pack by his hand. It was bundled in more towels this time, and squishier than the ones he threw out earlier. He pulled the cool sack in too, clutching onto it and the plushie protectively and finally finding a somewhat adequate temperature. 

“Here, I have something for you.” Fell peaked his sockets open with an annoyed growl, this time seeing Fiesta holding four different pills in one hand and a glass of creamy liquid in the other. “Take these, they should help you feel better.” Will they? That was certainly nice of this Fiesta fellow. Slowly Fell freed his arms from his blanket cocoon again, instantly grimacing at how cold the air was. He had no clue how Blue Fiesta could stand it out here. The short skeleton put the pills to Fell’s mouth, he himself brought a shaky hand up to try and help. Tilting his skull back he accepted the medicine without question, also allowing for the glass quickly offered to wash it down with. His own fingers were rattling too much to hold the cup himself, so Fiesta held it up to his jaw letting him drink it down. It instantly had a relieving effect like Fiesta’s green magic had, and he could feel the aches and pains dulling as he finished off the glass. 

“W-what was that?” Fell rasped.

“It’s soup silly. It should have helped with any pain you were still feeling.” Fiesta smiled kindly. Fell could feel tears prickling in his sockets, and he finally let his body collapse back against the mattress much to Fiesta’s alarm.

“Oh stars! Did something happen?”

“You're an Angel…” Blue Fiesta stopped at Fell’s odd musing.

“Excuse me?” He blinked.

“Only… only an Angel would be so kind… I-I’m gonna send you a bouquet of flowers…” Fell mumbled through a yawn.

“Aww, you don’t have to.” Fiesta giggled. Fell shot up a bit at the statement, grabbing for the other’s sleeve.

“N-no! You de… deserve flowers, and I’m gonna send you a…” He took a moment trying to remember the word he used before, but coming up blank. “I’ll… I’ll send you ALL the flowers!” 

“That’s very kind of you.” Fiesta smiled even wider. “But how about you go back to sleep and we can worry about that later.”

“Y-yes… that’s a great idea…” He shut his sockets when Blue Fiesta started humming a nice slow tune. Curling back up under his blanket nest, Fell pulled both the ice pack and plushie close to his rib cage and hugged them tightly, sinking into the safe coziness that provided a little relief from the overall icky sick feeling that hadn’t gone away with the medicine. Thankfully it didn’t take long to fall back to sleep.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Red could only sit outside the door in stunned silence. Blue was humming a stupid song and it put Fell right to sleep. His brother was snoring lightly and Blue managed to navigate treating him without too much issue.

The idiot actually managed to handle that delirious asshole and survive!

He could vaguely hear Stretch asking him a question but he was still in too much shock to care. How… How did he do it?! Red refused to believe it was the baby related shit. There was no way, he must have used his magic to mess with his bro’s head even more or keep him calm. Or maybe it was the medicine Blue somehow convinced him to take? Hell, he might have roofied the soup. But that wouldn’t explain the earlier stuff since he gave that to Fell right before he went back to sleep. So how was he doing it before that?!

“Hello? Earth to Red.” A set of phalanges snapped rapidly in his face rousing him from his thoughts. At some point he was moved to the downstairs sofa and Stretch was trying to get his attention. There was also a bowl of lukewarm soup in his phalanges and a Disney movie was playing on the VCR. “Oh good. Your eyelights are back.” He sighed. “You were starting to worry me. I thought I wouldn’t be able to share the best audio recording ever.” He pressed play on his phone, Fell’s voice coming through the speaker and promising to send Blue flowers. Stars dammit that really happened.

“Wait… when did I get here?”

“I’d say… forty minutes ago?” Stretch checked the time on his phone before nodding. “Yep. You’ve kind of been staring off with that weird expression for the last hour, so we brought you downstairs.”

“Papy? Is that Red? I thought I heard someone else.” Blue called from the kitchen.

“Yeah bro. He’s good now.” Stretch answered. Red could only look down at his soup thoughtfully, finally deciding to eat it all in a few massive gulps. He had to admit it was some pretty good soup, nice and creamy with chicken, chopped carrots and noodles. Sadly it didn’t help his ego at all, knowing that somehow Blue was right and he was wrong.

Stars Blue had been right and it was driving him crazy!

“Are you sure he’s back to normal?” Blue questioned waving a hand in front of his face. Red jumped to attention nearly throwing the bowl to defend himself, but thankfully realised it was only the Swaps. They were both watching him carefully, Stretch putting a hand to his forehead. “You’re not feeling sick right? Is the rattles even contagious?”

“No, but he could still be ill.” Blue mumbled as if Red wasn’t able to hear everything.

“I’m right here ya know.” Red growled. “And I’m not sick either, it’s…” He tried to say ‘you were right’ but he couldn’t actually form the words. “Ya can say it already. I know it’s comin.’”

“Say what?” Blue questioned.

“I told ya so, alright? I know how much ya and Boss love sayin’ it, so I’m ready ta get it over with.” Red crossed his arms waiting for the verbal berating. Blue just seemed sad by the words.

“I’m not going to brag about anything Red. We came here only to help until Fell is better, and that’s precisely what we’ll do!” Blue smiled with his big, innocent eyelights. Red could only glower at him. Damn his alternates sincerity.

“I still can’t figure out how ya managed ta do that without Boss dustin’ ya.” Red grumbled. “He nearly killed me when I tried.

“Well, first of all it helped playing into whatever nonsense he was saying.” Blue couldn’t help but chuckle. “Honestly, based on your phone explanation, I expected that to be WAY worse. He’s actually pretty agreeable when he’s not thinking straight.” Blue laughed heartily much to the other’s dismay.

How?

How the hell did he make it look so easy?!

“... give me the wig.” Red growled holding his hand out to Stretch.

“What?” The lanky skeleton questioned.

“I said give me that god damn wig!” He snarled more forcefully. Stretch quickly pulled the Afro and beard from his inventory and handed them over, Red putting them on begrudgingly.

“Okay, show me your secret and get it over with.” Blue couldn’t help his eye lights turning into stats at his demand.

“You mean it?!”

“I said show me how to do it already!” Red snarled. He wasn’t gonna put up with much more bullshit, so his alternate better be ready. Thankfully Blue seemed very serious about continuing.

“Don’t worry Red! We will have you all trained up and ready for anything.”

“Stars help me.” Red mumbled. Fell better appreciate this.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Red shuffled up the stairs trying to suppress a huge yawn. It was nine in the goddamn morning, and he didn’t get a lick of sleep last night. Blue was too busy lecturing him about taking care of sick monsters, everything from different monster illnesses and treatment methods, to bedside manners and cooking the best meals. All the while Stretch either slept on the couch or played with his new favorite audio clip.

Useless asshole.

Well, he did go upstairs a few times to supposedly ‘check’ on his alternate, though Red had a feeling getting more blackmail material was his main motive.

“ACHOOO!!!” Red jumped at the huge sneeze that erupted from his nasal cavity. He was honestly starting to feel like shit himself, probably from spending so much time listening to Blue’s lectures, which he managed to give through the ENTIRE goddamn night. Heh, maybe he was allergic to Blue’s nagging. Wouldn’t that be hilarious.

“Alright… check temperature, give meds as needed if he’s awake, and leave the ice packs within arms reach.” Red mumbled Blue’s instruction over and over again as he opened Fell’s door. He was pretty pissed, seeing as this was basically what he was doing before the Swaps intervened. According to Blue, it all had to do with his ‘presentation and bedside manners.’ So acting like his usual self wasn’t good enough? That was stupid. He must have had an easier time because he’s from a Taleverse. They probably all came with a nursing function over there. It was the best guess he could come up with.

Thanks to the damage his bone attacks did to the hinges it was squeakier than usual, and he couldn’t help cringing at the loud unpleasant noise. Thankfully Fell didn’t move, prompting Red to go in further. His brother really did make a blanket cocoon. The sheets near the bottom were mostly laid out as normal, with Doomfanger’s back legs poking out from under the pile as he snoozed happily. Everything near Fell’s torso had been fashioned into a cozy looking wrap, completely encasing him and making his head hard to find. That or it was from lots of tossing and turning. It was honestly hard to tell at this point.

Red set the ice packs down on the dresser and took out the pills Blue had told him to use. They honestly weren’t the first choice Red would have made, but then again he normally didn’t have as many options in medication. Now was the issue of checking his temperature for changes. Blue hadn’t given him instructions on what to do if Fell’s head was buried under blankets like this. Should he leave him be or go digging? 

On one hand he should probably ask Blue. At the same time though, he didn’t want another fifteen minute lecture explaining why he should or shouldn’t do one thing or the other. 

Normally he would just leave him sleep and shove off, but then again more nagging from Blue…

…

Best to check while he was here then wait for the idiot to be awake and dangerous.

Red glanced around the twisted piles of sheets looking for any sign of where his brother's head might be buried. He had the thermometer ready to go, and was pretty sure pulling up the flipped corner would reveal his target. Carefully he lifted the edge of fabric, dropping his thermometer in fear. Fell had his socket partially open, his eyelight fuzzily manifesting and looking at him accusingly. He didn’t do much more than give a threatening growl.

“H-hey there Boss!” Red smiled nervously. Fell shifted a bit so both eyelights were watching him, remaining oddly quiet. His cheekbones were still flush with red magic, enough of an indicator that the fever was still holding strong. He wasn’t gonna get close with the thermometer when his brother looked both this tired and pissed. “No need ta fear. It’s just lil old me! Krusty the… lumberjack. I’m here ta give ya some medicine. A gift from… Blue Fiesta?” Red couldn’t stop himself from checking his beard and rainbow wig, making sure that it was completely covering his face. Fell just glanced between Red and the medicine in his palm, seeming to be rolling something around in his head.

“Y-you aren’t one of the clones, right?” Red stood stock still at the question, having flashbacks to the last time Fell mistook him for a ‘clone.’ With a gulp Red forced out his answer. 

“... no.”

Fell didn’t relax any and neither did Red. All he could do was flinch back when the pills were suddenly snatched from his hand and pulled under the blanket pile by a set of shaky phalanges. His brother swiftly dry swallowed the medication before burying himself under the covers again. Red could only inch back slowly, still expecting a bone attack or blaster to be summoned and vaporize him on the spot. He wasn’t expecting the hand to appear again and start feeling around for the ice packs. Only his brother was struggling to reach the dresser. Carefully Red grabbed the corners of the packs and placed them on the bed, Fell quickly finding them both and absorbing them into his pile. The elder waited a few more, very long seconds to see if something else would happen, and his patience was rewarded. The original ice pack was swiftly ejected to the floor, the contents being melted, luke warm and covered in scarlet colored sweat. Red grabbed the thing and crept out of the room, slowly closing the door behind him. It was quiet, and no bone attacks came through the wall.

He survived.

And now he was completely spent.

“That was great Red!” Blue rushed up to him excitedly. “You did it without getting blasted! I’m so proud of you. Now there are a few pointers I could give-“

”Let's put a pin in that.” Red tossed the pack to his alternate and dragged his feet towards his own bedroom.

“Where are you going?”

“Bed. I’ve been up since yesterday mornin’ and I can’t take no more.” He yawned, finally opening his bedroom door and slipping inside. He was mere inches from the mattress when his phone started buzzing. He wasn’t sure if it was the ring tone itself or the fact that the caller was that stupid fish bitch, but whatever was keeping his temper in check instantly snapped. Growling he answered the stupid thing.

“What?!”

“Don’t “WHAT” me! I’m calling to check in on my Lieutenant!”

“He’s an asshole like always! Now stop calling!” 

“I’ve called you once since yesterday! And what’s with the attitude-“ Red hung up before stomping for his door, throwing it open and chucking his phone over the catwalk. He didn’t bother waiting for it to shatter, slamming his door and collapsing into his smelly mattress. Clutching the pillow to his face he let out a frustrated screech followed by a slew of curse words that would make a sailor blush. His tirade went on until his voice gave out and he had no energy left to put into yelling. He couldn’t control the coughing fit that erupted afterwards. Stars why couldn’t he be zen like Comic? 

Clutching his wad of filthy sheets Red fell into his own form of restless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should be one more chapter after this. I know how I want this to end though, so have some caretaking for the time being.
> 
> Comments are really appreciated!


	5. Finding Compromise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fell wakes up with his senses again, only to learn his brother may have made things worse.

It was nothing but a continuous nightmare, horrible sensations and swift temperature changes making peaceful rest nearly impossible. He could hear noises fading in and out around him, and the occasional voice or two. It felt like an eternity before the blankets around him became consistently cool, and a sudden humming forced his sockets open. He was laying in bed, covered in blankets now completely drenched in his sweat. His undershirt and boxers were soaked and smelly, on top of the things in the room that he didn’t remember bringing in. One of which being Blue, currently doing something by the dresser and… dressed like a loonatic.

“What… the hell are you wearing?” Fell growled weakly, rubbing his sockets to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. Nope, Blue was dressed in a sombrero and fake moustache.

“Oh good! You're coherent again!” Blue smiled wide with excitement. “Now let’s get you moved so I can do something about those sheets. It looks like someone dumped a bucket of water on them.” Fell just blinked trying to comprehend the statement.

He did feel like absolute crap, worse than he felt the few times he was two hit points away from dusting. He was really hungry, really thirsty, and his mind was a little foggy to boot. Still, he had no recollection of being ‘not coherent.’

Wait.

“BLUE??? What are you doing here?! Get out of my house!” He attempted to stand only for the other to force his soul down with blue magic.

“Wait! Just calm down-“

“How the hell did you get in here?! Did Sans let you in?!”

“Please stop-“

“Did he tell you to come?! I swear I’ll throw him through a meat grinder-“

“I SAID CALM DOWN!” Blue’s left socket illuminated dangerously, Fell shutting up at the oddly volatile behavior. He quickly went back to perky as if nothing had transpired. “Red called the other day saying the two of you were going to skip out on the picnic, claiming he was sick. Of course we had to check in without telling him… and we kind of barged into your room without him realizing and saw you were the sick one.” He smiled sheepishly, and Fell honestly couldn’t tell if he was lying or not. “Please don’t grind him up, it’s really Papy and I that-“

“Wait. The Ashtray is here too? He knows?!” Fell was ready to storm to the living room, if it weren’t for Blue shoving him back down.

“Would you stop that!” Fell snarled angrily. His caretaker wasn’t phased.

“You shouldn’t be walking around yet! Your fever may have broken, but you are still very unwell. Just look at your hands.” He gestured to his phalanges. Fell looked down realizing his body was lightly rattling. The burst of panic did a good job of making him forget how horrible he still felt. Now that his focus was on his body again, he realized how bad it was.

And it was really, really bad.

“Stars dammit…” He fell back into the sweaty mattress trying to accept he wasn’t getting his way. Blue was just happy to finally see him listening.

“Good! Now, before we take care of the sheets, you're several hours overdue for your medicine. These will help you feel better.” He held out a handful of pills for him to take. Fell glared at them like the capsules would attack at any moment.

“Please Fell…” Blue’s eyelights increased in size and he pouted. Damn this manipulative bastard.

“... just give me the damn meds.” Fell held out a trembling hand, only for Blue to shove them in his mouth directly. He barely managed to swallow them down before gagging uncontrollable, much to the amusement of the other. “G-glad you are getting a kick out of this.” Fell growled sarcastically. The bubbly Sans just put a full glass of water to his mouth.

“Sorry sorry! This will help, I promise.” He laughed. Fell turned his face away from it, no matter how much Blue insisted. He didn’t like this treatment. It made him feel weak and embarrassed all at once, and to top it all off a Tale monster was treating him like this! Even with his bones burning for the liquid relief, his pride wouldn’t allow it. “Come on Fell! You drank it earlier without issue.”

“Clearly you are lying, because I have no recollection of such an event.” He stubbornly pushed the cup away and huffed.

“Sure you did! It was when you hit the delusional phase of your illness and started talking about evil clones and slave ring shadow people. And llamas!” Fell blushed with fresh embarrassment, still having no memory of whatever the hell occured, but the sincerity on Blue’s face was almost enough to convince him.

“I hate you… you all suck.”

“Awww, I love you too Fell.” Blue blinked innocently. “Oh! Your Undyne stopped by earlier! She was really mad at Red, and very confused at seeing Stretch and I, but don’t worry! We explained everything, and she’s perfectly fine with us staying to ‘keep you in line’ as she put it.” Fell’s soul sank knowing his boss had likely seen him like this. He pulled the blanket over his face and cursed, much to Blue’s dismay. Now she knew sending him home to rest was justified. Not only that, but Blue managed to talk his way out of being dusted by her. How the hell did he do it? His manipulation skills were off the charts, unlike his own brothers. Speaking of Red, that was another thing he needed to consider. 

“I suppose I should ask where the runt is hiding. He’s probably halfway across the Underground by now.” In an attempt to escape Fell’s wrath most likely. Based on past experience when he managed to cross that line with Fell, the idiot would usually lay low for a week before attempting to sneak back in.

“He’s actually in his room.” The sick monster looked at the other a bit surprised. “It was honestly pretty sweet. He stayed up with me all night just to learn how to help you get better! Of course he hasn’t come out once since then and refuses to answer the door. He must be very tired.” Fell went stiff.

“He didn’t sleep at all?”

“Nope. He said he would learn my ‘Taleverse secrets’ even if it killed him.” Blue couldn’t help but chuckled at the quote.

“And… how long has he been in there?”

“Since around nine in the morning. Though he is a lazybones, I still don’t condone sleeping the day away-“

“You need to go.” Fell ordered. His alarm clock said it was around ten in the evening, and he wasn’t going to have Blue feeling guilty at the damage he probably caused. The other seemed almost offended.

“What do you mean leave? We are here to help you-“

“I fear you’ve overstayed your welcome.” The sick skeleton encased Blue’s soul this time, levitating him out of the room before he could protest. Fell shakily stood up and leaned into his doorframe looking for Stretch, seeing him sprawled out on the couch downstairs wearing an equally stupid wig. The Ashtray jolted at his stunned brother floating down the staircase. 

“Hey! Put my bro down-“ Stretch was quickly encased too, both of them being unceremoniously thrown out the front door and Fell using his magic to lock it behind them. The strain on his starved soul had an immediate effect.

“... oh shit…” Fell nearly crumpled to his knees, barely managing to stay upright by gripping the door frame for dear life. Stars damn that was a horrible waste of magic, but they needed to go. He couldn’t risk them finding anything else out, even if it felt like his soul would literally be ejected in a vomiting fit at any second. Swallowing down the massive wave of nausea Fell stubbornly stalked down the hallway to Red’s room, throwing the door open seeing exactly what he’d feared. The idiot was sprawled out on his mattress letting out frequently pained coughs. His face was flush with red magic, with his chest raggedly rising and falling. Fell leaned as far down as his body would let him, trying to feel his brother’s forehead for fever but having difficulty with his own senses out of whack.

“You overdid it again…” Fell cursed knowing his brother couldn’t hear him. He needed to do something, but his state would make it difficult to travel between bedrooms.

He needed to come up with a new plan, and before he keeled over himself.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

The Swap brothers landed in the snow with a loud thud, the door slamming behind them. Blue just scrambled to the house ready to head right back in.

“Fell? Fell open the door! You need us!” He pounded on the scratched up wood several times, gaining the attention of a few locals in town. The skeletons were low LV monsters in a dangerous world, and of course everyone was sure to check their stats.

Fellverse Jerry was looking at them suspiciously, making his way over radiating killing intent. Stretch illuminated his eyelight bright orange, several blasters staring the monster down warningly.

“I wouldn’t pal. The ‘Lieutenant’ won’t like his ‘relatives’ getting attacked. You best keep your distance for your own good.” Jerry recognized the blasters as Fell and Red’s attacks, quickly slinking away without anymore posturing. A few other monsters on the streets also ducted away at seeing the blasters, everyone knowing far too well what those things were capable of.

“Papy! Stop scaring the locals and help me! We need to get back in there!” Blue lifted his hand ready to start knocking again, only for Stretch to catch him by the arm.

“Not so fast bro. I think we should head to the basement for a few hours. Maybe go home then come back.”

“What?! How could you say that?! Fell needs us!”

“And we’ll have a direct way to listen in if he needs help.” Stretch pulled out a very old looking speaker with a dirty blue plastic covering.

“Wait… that’s the baby monitor we had when you were a babybones. How’d you know where that was?” Blue questioned suspiciously. Stretch just grinned.

“I make it my business to know all sorts of things, but let’s not worry about that. We need to keep an ear out for the Edgelord. Ya know, if we had ears at least.” He shrugged, Blue just crossing his arms in annoyance.

“Very well, we shall wait and see if he seems distressed. But don’t think I’m going to forget about this. I have many questions!” He glowered. Comic was the next closest in personality to Stretch, and even he wasn’t this mischievous, as far as Blue knew anyway.

“Can't we just chock it up to being in the younger brother territory that older siblings won’t understand?” Stretch tried, still clearly unconcerned. The two walked to the back of the house and into the basement.

“No we will not! Clearly you’ve been going through things you shouldn’t be touching! Mainly my things!”

“Okay, first off it’s Dad’s stuff, not yours. Second, I’m a grown adult and I don’t need your permission for that. It hasn’t even been a problem till you learned about it.” He pulled out a sucker and started munching on it, taking a seat at the dusty desk chair downstairs while Blue got situated on a solid box.

“Whatever! Just know this discussion isn’t over!”

“Eh, fair enough.” Stretch propped his feet up on the desk and took out the baby monitor. Setting the volume on high the two waited and listened for what felt like forever, until the sounds of objects being moved and shifted eventually came through the speaker.

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

Red awoke with a groan. His head hurt, his bones ached, and he felt absolutely drained. He barely had the energy to lift his skull at the moment, and his soul was trembling with effort. Unfortunately he was familiar with the feeling, it came with being so low in the HP category. He overexerted himself.

“Well at least you're not dead.” He heard Fell huff weakly. Red finally realized he wasn’t in his room anymore. His jacket and shoes were laid beside his brother’s armor pile. Next to that was a smelly pile of sweaty sheets, clothes and blankets, the dirtiest things he’d ever seen in his brother’s bedroom. At some point he had been moved, and was currently laying on a couch cushion mattress and covered in some of the spare blankets from his brother’s bed. Said asshole was on the bed watching him under the blankets he kept. His mattress was bare, and he apparently attempted to completely change the sheets before giving up and throwing it on as a loose cover. He was still clearly sick and shaking, but coherent now and looking slightly better.

Thank the stars.

“Oh good. I don’t have ta wear that wig anymore.” Red grinned at his brother’s confusion.

“I have no idea what you mean, but it couldn’t have been worse than the getup Blue had.” Red cringed.

“Heh, well ya certainly weren’t attackin’ my ‘Krusty the Lumberjack’ persona that’s for sure.” He hoped to see even the slightest reaction from his brother, but Papyrus maintained his same serious expression.

Great.

“So I take it ya saw them?”

“Kind of hard to miss-“ Fell gasped on a particularly harsh tremor. He took a minute to recover before continuing. “A-apparently the fact that YOU called them about us canceling had them busting the door down.”

“Sorry Boss… I tried ta keep them away. They were just too smart for me.” He shut his sockets expecting to be kicked, but Fell surprisingly didn’t move.

“Nothing can be done now.” He murmured, still clearly annoyed. “They don’t know what happened to you thankfully… I threw them out before they learned.”

“Why would ya do that?” Red gawked. What the hell had this moron done now?!

“We’ve been fine without help before! We will survive this time too!” He rasped. “Besides, do you really want to upset Blue since your condition is partially his fault?”

“... okay fine.” Red relented. “But all of those times at least one of us could function. Can ya even walk yet? Cuz yesterday every time ya tried resulted in vomitin’ and face plants.” This time Fell took a bit longer to answer.

“... I got you and the couch cushions in here by myself.”

“Could ya do it again?” Red questioned skeptically.

… 

“... shut up Sans!”

“If only I could get some satisfaction from- OOF!” A barefoot kicked him in the side, lacking it’s usual furocity but still painful. “Asshole…”

“It takes one to know one.” Fell croaked. His voice was starting to fail.

“Can’t believe ya dragged me ta your room. Seems like extra work ta me.” Fell took several minutes to respond this time, much to Red’s annoyance and concern.

“I am… very aware of my goddamn limits right now, and I think it’s safe to say I… I can’t make it to your bedroom if something happened…” Well shit. He actually admitted it. 

“Maybe ya should of let Blue and Stretch stay- OW!“ Another swift kick with Fell’s foot shut him up immediately. Red couldn’t help himself from egging the younger on though, against his better judgement. “Heh. I guess I’ll take the move ta your room as a sign that ya do care.”

”I said shut up!” He growled getting his foot ready for another angry kick, but his soul had other plans. Lunging forward Fell vomited into the trash can. A long, sickly series of hacking and coughing that made Red feel pretty queasy himself. Fell just hung over the bed looking down at the waste bin for several long minutes, initially trying to move his legs but quickly giving up.

“I… I don’t suppose you’d be able to grab a glass of water?”

“Boss, my whole body feels like limp noodles and my magic is worn out. What makes ya think I can move?” He also had no intention of getting into a similar condition to Fell by exerting himself further, and the idiot needed to recognize his own error in kicking the Swaps out.

“Worth a shot…” Fell groaned. Red tried to close his sockets and rest despite his head pounding, but the involuntary noises Fell made when breathing kept him awake. He eventually looked over to his brother, tired of waiting.

“Are ya gonna call the Swaps back in or not?”

“I’m… working on it…” He reached for the dresser feeling around for his phone, only for both of them to tense when the thing fell behind it with a loud thud. The two of them stared where the phone had most likely landed, wedged only a few feet away in a spot neither could get to in their current states.

So close, yet so far away.

Fell looked to his brother tiredly, Red feeling around his sweater for his own phone before remembering what he did that morning.

“Sorry Boss. Threw my phone over the stairs earlier. In retrospect, probably not a good idea.”

“... no… I suppose it wasn’t…” Fell groaned into the pillow trying to muffle his distress. “We… don’t have a way to contact them…” 

“I can’t believe ya threw them out.” Red moaned. They were screwed at this rate, and once again because of his idiot brother being stubborn.

“Wait… we still have one last hope.” Red raised a brow at his brother’s statement, not sure what he had planned. “Doomfanger! Come here!” He made a rough hissy noise that woke the cat up from his nap at the end of the bed. He waddled over to Fell and sniffed his fingers. “Get the phone Doomfanger! Go get it!” He pushed him towards the wall where the cat proceeded to open its legs up and start grooming itself. All Red could do was stare with his jaw hanging open.

“Ya can’t be serious?! The stupid cat! Really???!”

“Well I don’t see you coming up with ideas.” Fell wheezed. “Go on Doomfanger, get the phone!” Eventually the cat finished his grooming routine, following Fell’s finger and sniffing at the crack between the wall and dresser. He saw something interesting, sticking his paw in the crack and swatting. It sounded like two plastic things had fallen into each other thanks to Doomfanger’s efforts, one of them the phone and the other some unknown object.

“That’s it Doomfanger! Pull it out for daddy!” The feline swatted a few more times before something else peaked its interest. Before either brother could protest Doomfanger was waddling out the bedroom door. “Come back here you traitorous coward!” He tried to shout but it came out as a weak rasp. 

“You’re an idiot…” Red rubbed his sockets with a groan.

“I… it seemed like a good idea… what was I thinking…” He buried his face into the pillows, clawing at the fabric in frustration leaving several tears from his sharp nails. “Wait… wait… I have a new plan… I’ll move the dresser with my magic… and you crawl over and grab the phone.”

“That also sounds like a horrible idea.” Red grumbled. Under normal circumstances, fine, but right now just trying to sit up was exhausting.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you wanted to die side by side to something stupid when help is only four feet out of reach.” Red looked to his phalanges hoping he’d be able to levitate the phone towards him instead. His soul protested at the attempt to summon any magic, and he couldn’t stop the uncontrollable hacking that followed.

“F-fine. *hack hack* J-just *cough* m-move the damn dresser already.” He attempted to sit up but the energy strain was too much. Ultimately he rolled off the couch cushions and prepared to crawl. 

Hold on…

He’s a skeleton for Pete’s sake!

Rolling up one sleeve he removed his arm at the shoulder and held it like an extension grip, still able to move his fingers on the detached hand. He had to crawl a few feet before he’d be able to reach it still, but not as far as before. The same shortcut couldn’t be offered to his brother. Fell got his magic ready, the red whisp in his socket fading in and out in his own exhaustion.

This was gonna suck on both ends.

“I’ll move it on three.” He murmured, taking the extra seconds to pull whatever reserve he had left. “One… two… th-“

“Hey now. No need to hurt yourselves.” Stretch’s rough voice made them both jump. Said skeleton had teleported into the room, still wearing the stupid hippy wig and sunglasses. “You’re lucky we never actually left. Otherwise you’d both be quite… ‘boned.’” He had the biggest shit eating grin on his face, holding several glasses of water much to Fell’s horror.

“H-how did-“ the question was interrupted by the door slamming open, Blue standing in the entrance with big watery eyelights.

“I’m so sorry Red!” He balled, tackling the prone skeleton with a big, painful hug. Red growled and tried to push him away, but his limbs were too weak and Blue’s grasp too tight. “I didn’t realize you had a constitution like Papy’s! I can’t believe I didn’t think of that!” Fell covered his ears holes at the loud cries while Red just continued to squirm.

“It’s fine, now get off me!” Red got a knee up with his detached arm pulling on Blue’s bandana, finally making him let go. Breathing heavily at the extra exertion Red attempted a reassuring grin. “I-it’s okay Blue. I *hack* s-shoulda said somethin’ last night. It’s my own fault.”

“I feel so bad though!” He sounded so remorseful, and it was enough to make Red feel several lovey dovey things that he couldn’t stand. Thankfully Blue quickly came to a new decision. “No need to worry though, I’ll make it up to you by helping you get better!”

“Great.” Red sighed. “Let’s just take it slow this time-“ A big blur of blue color whipped up around him, and within a few seconds his arm was reattached and his couch cushion bed was completely straightened out. He was now tucked in with a mound of pillows behind his back, and Blue was already whipping out the thermometer and shoving it in his acoustic meatus, sending a shiver up his spine from the invasive feeling.

“Your temperature is a little high, thankfully no where near Fell’s.” Blue commented before smiling. “With enough rest you should be back to normal in a day or two!”

“So I get ta be pampered for a few days? And no ones gonna yell at me for it? That’s not a bad deal.” He sunk into the cushions happily.

“Also figured you might want this back. It’s a good thing my wig broke the fall.” Stretch tossed the formerly discarded phone onto Red’s chest.

“Thanks pal. And, uh, sorry about hitin’ ya with it. Didn’t even realize.” The lazy Papyrus just waved him off.

“What about me?” Fell croaked.

“Well, when you woke up earlier I would have said three or four days, but seeing the results of all that magic exertion from throwing us out, probably closer to a week or two.”

“Bullshit! I have things to-“

“You will not get out of this bed until I say so, or so help me I will tie you to it!” Blue’s eyelight flashed dangerously again, even making Red shudder at how freaky he looked. Thankfully it had a similar effect on Fell, and he finally curled up under the blankets without saying anything more. “Excellent! Now I’ll start on some fresh soup for the two of you! I know you’ll both love it!”

“Sounds great short stuff.” Red grinned tiredly. He didn’t even wait for a response from Fell, quickly heading downstairs while Stretch took a seat in the desk chair.

“You can leave any time Ashtray.” His brother snarled. Stretch wasn’t even phased.

“Nah, I think I’ll sit here for a while. I’ll even read a book to you Edgelord. Got the perfect one picked and everything.” He waved a children’s book with the title “Peekaboo with Fluffy Bunny” plastered across the cover.

“I swear to Asgore I’ll-“

“In the grassy plains of Hoppy Hills, lived a very fluffy bunny-“

“Dammit I said no!” Fell covered his head with another pillow to try muffling the voice of his grating double, not having any success. 

Heh, Red remembered reading this story to Fell as a babybones. Course he hadn’t even seen that book in years, but it didn’t stop from bringing up happier memories. He was sure Fell didn’t mind it as much as he was letting on either. It was just the fact Stretch was the one reading.

“The end.” Stretch eventually finished and closed the cover. “Well, I thought that was a lovely read. What about you Edgelord?” He had the most smug sound to his voice. Fell just kept his face sandwiched between the pillows. “Come onnnnn. You wanna hear it again, right?” 

Fell just groaned tiredly. Not bothering with an insult or an angry outburst. He sounded almost… defeated.

“It’s done!” Blue walked in balancing three separate steaming bowels in his arms. He gracefully passed one to both Stretch and Red, twirling over to Fell’s bedside clutching the third. “It’s time for food Fell! Come out and eat so you can get better!” 

“Go away…” He groaned.

“Come on! You need to eat if you want to get healthy again! Honestly you didn’t have any trouble yesterday when I fed you-“

“That is a lie! I would allow no such thing!” Fell threw the pillow and shot upright angrily, quickly diving for the garbage can at the sudden nausea. He didn’t have any magic left to vomit up, instead just gagging wearily over the garbage. The bubbly Sans rubbed his back comfortingly until he was finished, helping him sit back up against the pillows.

“Feeling better?”

“Was that a serious question?” Fell scowled. His bones were still clacking together lightly, not as extreme as yesterday, but enough to be audible across the room. Fell just pretended it wasn’t happening.

“Well you won’t get any better unless you eat. So stop being difficult and we’ll get it over with.” He held the bowl out hopefully. Fell glowered down at it before sighing in defeat.

“Fine. Hand it over.” He held out his trembling hands.

“You’re too shaky to feed yourself. You’ll make a mess without help.” 

“Stop babying me and just give it!” Fell reached for the bowel but Blue pulled it away. He took a spoonful of soup and held it up to Fell’s face, much to his horror.

“Now open up and say AAAAH.” Blue waved the spoon close to his mouth.

“Come on Edgelord! Open up for the train. It wants to park in the station.” Stretch snickered saying it in a baby talk voice. Red could only cringe. This was exactly what he feared they’d do, and he wasn’t sure if Fell was gonna try dusting them or not. Currently his brother’s flushed cheekbones were getting redder, and a few tears were forming in his sockets that he tried desperately to blink back.

He felt mortified, and Red was the only one that seemed to notice.

“... I’m not hungry.” Fell rolled over and yanked the blankets over his skull.

“Fell! You need to eat if you want to get better!”

Stretch couldn’t help chiming in too, which seemed to be the final straw. “Seriously, no need to make a big deal out of this-“

“This IS a big deal!” Fell turned around to face them only to get nauseous again and dive for the trashcan.

“See! That nausea came back because of your over activity, and the fever will come back too if you keep this up! If you’re going to get any better-“

“Maybe I’d rather dust then suffer this humiliation!” He screamed back not looking up from his vomit bin. Blue recoiled as if struck.

“Needing help isn’t humiliating! We all need it sometimes!” The two argued back and forth, both getting more and more frustrated. This is what Red had expected from his edgy brother since the beginning, and he wasn’t in the same mindset to play along with Blue’s coddling like he had the other day.

A delirious Fell with unpredictable behaviors was more than Red could handle, but a coherent Fell was different. He knew exactly how to work his way around the asshole without setting him off. After raising him alone for the last fourteen years it was kind of a requirement to survive in this house.

Taking his phone out Red started typing a message to Blue and clicked send. His bubbly double checked his own phone as soon as it pinged. He looked to Red questioningly, the prone skeleton giving him a wink of approval. He took the bowl and crept out of the bedroom to fulfill his new orders once Fell had finished his tirade and hid back under the covers to sulked.

Now for Stretch.

“Hey, come down here.” He tugged Stretch’s capris trying to get his attention. The tall skeleton leaned over, Red whispering instructions into his ear hole and motioning towards the bookcase. He raised a brow bone at the orders, but Red just gave a reassuring nod. “Trust me on this.” 

Ultimately Stretch shrugged, shuffling over and grabbing the literature he was told to get. Taking a seat at the desk again, Stretch cleared his throat. “Alright, which book shall I read next? We got-“

“I told you I don’t want to be read too!” Fell snarled, still refusing to come out from under the blankets.

“I wasn’t reading to you, I was gonna read to Red.”

“Appreciate it pal.” Red winked. His brother seemed to relax a bit at the news.

“Oh… carry on then.” Fell mumbled before cursing a few times.

“Let’s see… we’ve got Murder on the Orient Express, Hatchet, Weasel, The Hobbit, and The Hound of the Baskervilles. Anything fancy your interest?”

“Oh gee, they all sound so good… I’m having a hard time deciding.” The elder scratched his chin thoughtfully, glancing over to his now fidgeting brother. He continued to make indecisive noises for several long seconds until Fell finally ripped his blankets off with an exaggerated roll of his eyelights.

“For the love of Asgore just read Hatchet! Red’s never read that one.”

“Oh yeah, guess I haven’t. Good thing ya remember.”

“Whatever! This is actually a good book. You’d know that if you ever took my suggestions.” He crossed his arms and scowled at the wall. At least the idiot wasn’t hiding anymore.

“I’ve never heard of it honestly.” Stretch shrugged. “No time like the present then.” He flipped open to the first page and began reading. The story began from the perspective of a teenager named Brian, who was flying over a massive forest when the pilot of the small plane started having pains in his chest. Red glanced over to Fell every so often, seeing he was trying his best to not watch Stretch as he read, picking a spot on the bookshelf and staring at that.

“He was sitting in a bush plane seven thousand feet above the northern wilderness with a pilot who had suffered a heart attack and who was either dead or in something close to a coma-“

“Hey, isn’t this Hatchet?” Blue questioned as he stepped back into the room.

“Sure is bro. I didn’t know you’ve read this one?” Stretch commented.

“Of course I have. It’s a classic after all. There is even a film adaption, though it’s not quite as good.” He handed Fell a metallic water bottle with a flip lid before he could protest, setting an identical one on the dresser and handing Red a regular glass of water. 

“What is this?” Fell questioned suspiciously.

“It’s your soup, silly. Drink it at your own pace. The other bottle has water if you’d like that instead.” He smiled before taking a seat on the floor, Red passing him a few pillows to lean against. Fell looked between them not saying anything, settling back into the pillows and staring up at the hole in the ceiling, trying to act like he didn’t care about the book. “Don’t stop reading now. We’re coming up to some really good parts.”

“Alright, alright, now where was I… right, chapter two.” He cleared his non-existent throat and started again. “For a time that he could not understand Brian could do nothing. Even after his mind began working and he could see what had happened-“

Stretch kept going while the main character attempted to fly the plane, only to crash into a lake. Red couldn’t help but notice Fell’s attention slowly being pulled into the story, unconsciously taking shaky sips of soup from the water bottle. Thankfully the lid did as Red had hoped, and his spilling was reduced to a minimum few drops. 

He was finally eating, which was a huge relief all around.

“Meow.” A guttural noise snapped Red from his musing. Doomfanger had waddled into the room and was currently making his way over to Red.

Oh great, what did that thing want now? He couldn’t help cringing when the feline waltzed up to him, expecting to be swatted at or bit. Instead the stupid ass cat rubbed up against his face, with a look that said “Good job for once.”

“Heh, you're not so bad… I guess.” He murmured and scratched it’s back a few times. Doomfanger only tolerated three pats before hissing at him and curling up in Blue’s lap. Red just rolled his eyelights and continued listening to the story.

They had gotten pretty far into the book, when a soft raspy snoring escaped Fell’s mouth. Everybody stopped to look at their difficult patient. He had completely passed out with his jaw hanging open and his head lolled to the side in a goofy way. The bottle of soup fell to its side when his clattering bones shook it loose from his grip. He actually looked somewhat peaceful for once. Blue was quick to pick it up, shaking the container with fresh excitement.

“You were right Red! He drank it all!” Blue yell-whispered.

“Told ya.” Red yawned smuggly.

“I’m surprised Red, I thought ya called us out because Fell was too hard to handle.” Stretch commented.

“No, a delirious crazy Fell is out of my comfort zone. Normal asshole Fell is simple. Just gotta know how to work around his massive ego.”

“Wow, I just thought he’d be easy enough regardless of his mind frame. I guess I was wrong.” Blue said meekly.

“Don’t worry ‘bout it.” Red grinned toothily. “Heh, I guess ya could learn a thing or two from me.”

“Actually, I would love to. Maybe learning from you would help me get along with Razz better.”

“Yeaaaaahhh… let's not get too hopeful in that department.”

“Come to think of it, I wonder if Razz has ever gotten sick?” Stretch mused. Red’s eyelights went out at the prospect. He knew he and his brother were bad enough, he couldn’t imagine how much of a pain Razz would be.

“I swear ta god if ya jinx this and those two-“

“SHHHHHHH!” Blue hushed them before the two woke Fell up. He had all the laundry scooped up in his arms and was ready to leave. “Come on Papy. Let’s let them rest.”

“Coming bro.” Stretch set the book down and followed Blue to the door, only to turn around at the last second and take a very unflattering picture of Fell, unable to contain the huge shit eating grin on his face. He slipped out quickly and shut the door behind him, Red rolling his eyelights at the stupidity. That was gonna be a mess he’d be happy to stay out of.

Shutting his sockets ready to pass out entirely, Red sighed sinking back into his cushions. He wouldn’t lie, having the Swaps around did have him feeling a little better oddly enough. He hoped Fell felt the same way, even if he would never admit it. Now they would just have to do this for at least another week until Fell was better.

Or two weeks…

…

Stars dammit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey it’s the end of this thing! Now to focus on finishing a longer running series and some commissions on top of that!
> 
> Leave a comment if you enjoyed! I lover hearing what people think.


End file.
